Search Engines

Search engines work in many different ways. Some search titles or headers of documents, others search the documents themselves and still others search other indexes or directories. Read the descriptions below.

YAHOO  (http://www.yahoo.com) has built a comprehensive cross-discipline resource base. It recognizes categories, but don't let the constraints of their classification system get you down. Yahoo now works in tandem with Alta Vista.

ALTA VISTA (http://www.altavista.com) offers compact or detailed searches through what the company claims is the largest Web index, Digital Equipment Corporation's Alta Vista can help you find your way through 8 billion words filling 16 million Web pages. It also provides a full-text index of more than 13,000 newsgroups.The engine allows for simple and advanced queries. Point to the Advanced Query page.

INFERENCE FIND (http://www.infind.com) is an Internet search tool that calls out in parallel all the best search engines, merges the results, removes redundancies, clusters the hits into neat understandable groupings. 

HOT BOT (http://www.hotbot.com) allows you to tailor searches at any level of sophistication.

LYCOS (http://www.lycos.com) finds what you need in seconds, including text, graphics, sounds, and videos. Lycos is the most open search of all the search engines, i.e., it's the least bound to categories and more friendly to open searches.

SEARCH.COM (http://www.search.com) allows you to use the search engine of your choice. 

 

DOGPILE (http://www.dogpile.com) searches all the major search engines

Search Engines for Students

Kids Ask Jeeves (http://www.ajkids.com)is primarily an educational Web site that kids, K-6, can use for homework help and research for school projects. Students ask questions that the search engine answers--as well as it can. Ask Jeeves (http://www.ajkids.com) is designed for the older user.

KidsClick! (http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/KidsClick!/)is comprised of almost 1,800 records for Internet resources of interest to kids. Records can be browsed in major categories, sub-categories, or specific subjects. Searches can be limited by a controlled subject vocabulary, reading level, and amount of illustrative material. Each record contains a descriptive (rather than evaluative) annotation; in many cases, these content notes were taken directly from the web sites themselves.

 

YAHOOLIGANS! (http://www.yahooligans.com)is designed for kids.

 

Activities to Learn How to Search

Cyber Surfari (http://www.cybersurfari.org/) directs students to different Web sites to find hidden clues. Each clue directs them to another to search for a hidden code. There are a total of 100 clues to find and 100 web sites to visit to compete in this annual contest. 

Headbone Derby (http://www.headbone.com/derby/polls) is a research adventure and contest for grades 4-8 and has a limited run, though it might be useful for specific units in the curriculum.

Other Stuff

SHAREWARE.COM (http://www.shareware.com) makes it simple to find software on the Internet. More than 200,000 files are available for easy searching, browsing, and downloading from shareware and corporate archives.

DOWNLOAD.COM (http://www.download.com) provides downloadable, demonstration commercial software.